Oct 15, 2009 10:08 am US/Eastern
HealthWatch: Treating Male Menopause
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
Do men go through their own version of menopause? Some guys do, and it can bring on some serious and troublesome health problems.
CBS 2's Dr. Max Gomez tells us how men can find out if they have andropause, also known as a testosterone deficiency, and what they can do about it.
Even though it's often used, men's health experts don't like the term "andropause," because while menopause is a normal part of aging that all women eventually go through, they say that dropping testosterone is actually a treatable medical condition.
Rafael Villafane works long days at his job. So the 65-year-old New Yorker thought it was normal that he be tired and have other problems, but not this bad.
"I was tired from the time I got up to the time I went to sleep. It didn't seem like I could get enough rest, and I was almost falling asleep on my desk," said Villafane.
When Rafael mentioned his problems to Dr. Ridwan Shabsigh, he immediately suspected testosterone deficiency, which a simple blood test confirmed. But many men go undiagnosed, as their symptoms are written off to stress, aging or depression, a potentially dangerous mistake.
"Testosterone deficiency is frequently associated with important medical illnesses and conditions such as diabetes type II, such as high blood pressure, such as heart disease and lung disease," said Dr. Shabsigh of Maimonides Medical Center.
The good news is that there are simple treatments. For Rafael, it's a testosterone gel that he applies every day. There are also pills or injections.
But easy as it is, the treatment must be medically monitored.
"The first thing we do is to rule out prostate cancer because testosterone treatment is contraindicated in the presence of prostate cancer, although blood values are monitored and blood counts are monitored. The side effects, sometimes, in a minority of patients, include acne and skin irritations from certain products," said Dr. Shabsigh.
"I feel my energy level is much improved," said Rafael. "I'm not falling asleep at my desk and the couple of times that I have been active sexually, have been much more satisfying. More so like when I was twenty than now," added Rafael.
Testosterone is what's called an anabolic steroid, so the question is why is this okay when it's dangerous in body builders and athletes. In those cases, men are trying to raise their testosterone levels well above normal. In patients like Rafael, doctors are trying to get testosterone to normal levels.
Plus they're being regularly monitored.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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